


Here comes the spark before the dark

by dip_cheese



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, God i hate that tag, Trans Female Character, cis girl!alex, gal pals to gal friends, trans girl! bill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10951524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dip_cheese/pseuds/dip_cheese
Summary: Alex would be lying to say she hadn’t been thinking about Billie Karlsson before this. It was the big story of the summer, an NHL player on the Anaheim Ducks coming out as a trans woman and declaring her intention to play the next season with the NWHL. Alex had even sent out her Swede hockey feelers to send Billie a congratulations text, even though they’d never met.It was still a pretty big shock when the girl she’d been secretly crushing on announced she was going to sign with Alex’s team, the Columbus Frost.





	Here comes the spark before the dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thermocline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thermocline/gifts).



> Happy cbj exchange srp! hope you like it.
> 
> Thanks to shihadchick for betaing, especially so speedily. Also thanks to folignos for organising this exchange and letting me come in at such short notice!
> 
> Title taken from Closer by Tegan and Sara.
> 
> Honestly not a depiction of what said people are like in real life. 
> 
> Because we need more fic with trans characters, and femslash forever (Y).

Alex would be lying to say she hadn’t been thinking about Billie Karlsson before this. It was the big story of the summer, an NHL player on the Anaheim Ducks coming out as a trans woman and declaring her intention to play the next season with the NWHL. Alex had even sent out her Swede hockey feelers to send Billie a congratulations text, even though they’d never met.

 

It was still a pretty big shock when the girl she’d been secretly crushing on announced she was going to sign with Alex’s team, the Columbus Frost. It took Alex about five seconds to scramble and grab her phone from the table.

 

_So it looks like you'll be joining us! It will be nice to have another Swede on the team._ Alex types out three crown emojis, a hockey emoji, and a girls holding hands emoji, pauses for a moment, deletes the last one, and adds the dancing girls emoji.

 

Billie replies with a heart eyes emoji. Alex is so fucked.

 

_Anyway, my apartment in Columbus has a spare room if you want to become my roomie_ , Alex types. Billie’s typing bubble is active for a few minutes, then she replies, _sure but you’ll have to drive me around I don’t have an American license yet haha._

Alex replies _can do_ , then tosses her phone back on the table, picks up a pillow and groans into it. Having a crush on your roommate is a recipe for disaster, especially when you also play on the same team with them. This breaks at least two of Alex’s rules.

 

* * * * *

 

Alex drives out to Port Columbus to meet Billie’s flight from Sweden. She arrives in late morning, and Alex has just enough time to grab an awful airport coffee before Billie passes through the secure area. Although her eyes are red-rimmed from jetlag, she still looks stunningly gorgeous, wearing a cute tank top paired with daisy dukes, showing off her long muscly legs.

 

“Hi Billie, how was the flight?” Alex asks.

 

Billie makes an adorable grunt. “Call me Bill. It’s not far to your apartment is it? I need to sleep forever.”

 

“It’s your apartment too now. But it’s not far, try and hold on.”

 

Bill manages to stay awake for the drive back, but forgoes taking her luggage in to maximize sleep time. Alex gets distracted making lunch, and doesn’t realize until she goes to check in on Bill that Bill’s managed to pass out in Alex’s bed, instead of the spare room, Bill’s soft blonde hair forming a halo on the pillow. This bodes well, she thinks, and opens up her Netflix in the living room.

 

It’s late evening before Bill emerges yawning from Alex’s bedroom. “What time is it? Wait, don’t tell me. Hey, is that the new season of Orange is the New Black?”

 

“Yeah, I just started it. Want me to rewind?”

 

“It’s okay, I’ve seen it already.” Bill curls on to the couch next to Alex. Alex wishes she couldn’t feel the slight pressure where they touch.

 

“Stop hogging the blanket, Alex!” Bill whines. After a brief wrestle, they end up with the blanket tucked around them, their bodies pressed up each other.

 

* * * * *

 

Living with Bill is amazing. Having another Swede on the team rocks, someone to talk in Swedish with and pretend they’re talking shit about their other teammates, someone to go and take fika with when they’re getting homesick, or even just bored.

 

“Hey Bill?”

 

Bill looks up from her phone. “Yeah?”

 

“How come you take so many photos of me and everyone else, but I’ve seen your face on your insta about twice?”

 

Bill’s face looks ashamed. “I don’t like being in photos, I look ugly and all –” She makes an indecipherable gesture at her face.

 

Alex frowns. “I don’t know what you mean by –“ Alex repeats the gesture, “but you aren’t ugly.” Alex breathes forcibly through her nose. “You’re really not ugly, I promise.”

 

Bill’s mouth curls up a little at the sides. “Thanks, Alex. I don’t know, I just spent all of my life hating how I look, and I’m not good at finding the things about me I _do_ like now.”

 

Alex hums pensively. “I think you need practice. Up for a challenge?”

 

“Sure. What?”

 

“You have to send me a selfie on snapchat every day from now on.” Hopefully this works for Bill, given how much pain Alex has just committed herself to. Alex already spends way too much time thinking about how nice it would be to kiss Bill, and this is going to destroy Alex’s gay heart.

 

Bill keeps up to the challenge Alex gave her. More days than not, Bill makes faces or puts an animal filter on, but the number of days where she lets her face show properly start to slowly increase.

 

* * * * *

 

Living with Bill is the worst. Alex is so in love with her.

 

Exhibit A: Bill has a habit of not wearing a lot around their apartment. Her favourite “outfit” is just a bra or crop top paired with tiny running shorts that invariably have Alex thinking sinful thoughts about the cut of Bill’s abs, or wanting to rest her hands on Bill’s hips, sliding her hands under the waistband of the shorts.

 

Exhibit B: Bill has about 10 million different makeup, skin care and hair care products. What used to be a sparse bathroom has been transformed into a clutter of varying kinds of goop that Alex cannot work out the difference between. Hell, the last time Alex tried to use makeup she ended up stabbing herself with an eyeliner pencil. And the worst part is Alex can’t even find Bill’s beauty care obsession anything but endearing.

 

Exhibit C: When Bill and Alex snuggle on the couch, Alex can smell the coconut shampoo that Bill uses in her hair.

 

Exhibit D: Bill really likes Justin Bieber. Like a lot. Alex is so sick of hearing Bieber songs blasted through the walls of their apartment. She once tried to tell Bill the only thing she wanted to do with Justin was date girls that looked like him, but Bill declared this heresy and forced Alex to watch a whole bunch of music videos with her. Alex is still scarred.

 

Exhibit E: The elaborate ponytail Bill braids her hair into before games. It looks so badass that Alex briefly regrets having short hair, but only briefly. The only time Alex tried to grow her hair out, it was a Mistake.

 

Okay, Alex can admit it. She’s completely gone for this girl. She tried to ask her captain Nicky for some helpful advice on how to ask Bill out, given Nicky’s engaged to their goaltender Bob, but that degenerates into whistles and ass slaps and no helpful advice.

 

* * * * *

 

On the drive home from practice, Bill is unusually quiet.

 

“What’s up?” Alex asks.

 

“Um I know this is awkward and terrible timing and you’re way out of my league but um, don’t hate me.”

 

Alex’s heart is pounding “What?”

 

Bill is avoiding eye contact with Alex and her fingers are clenched in her palm.

 

“Um, I really like you and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me some time.”

 

Alex chuckles. “Yeah, um, yes. I like you a lot too. But you had to ask me while I’m driving!”

 

“Uh, Alex, I was pretty sure you weren’t going to crash the car”

 

“That’s not what I meant. I really want to kiss you right now but it will have to wait until we get home.”

 

“Oh.” Bill reaches over and kisses Alex on the cheek with her soft lips. “I hope that is enough for now.”

 

Alex finds Bill’s hand and holds it in hers. “More than enough.”


End file.
